Snow and Ice
by justlook3
Summary: Missing scenes from The Empire Strikes Back: Luke Skywalker and Han Solo survive the night on Hoth. Brief mention of the events of my story "Sabacc Night" but not a true sequel.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: Missing scenes from The Empire Strikes Back, beginning when Luke wakes up in the Wampa cave. Some dialogue comes from The Empire Strikes Back novelization by Donald F. Glut. This story originally appeared in print form in the zine Comfort Zone (Issue 2, 2003). _

The distant roars of a creature woke Luke Skywalker. He had a dim memory of being attacked by someone or, more likely, some thing.

Luke's head was aching, aching worse than any headache he'd ever had before. It felt like it was exploding, so much so that it hurt to open his eyes. But he had to open his eyes, had to find out where he was.

He discovered he was in some sort of ice cave. Worse yet, he suddenly realized that he was hanging upside down, arms dangling and fingertips several inches from the floor. He was having a hard time feeling his toes. He craned his neck and saw that his feet were frozen in ice hanging from the ceiling. His own blood was frozen on his face from where the being had slashed him.

The roars sounded again, the creature was getting closer. He had to get out; he had to free himself from the ice. But he was so cold and he felt so weak. But still, he had to try, he was not about to die here, not this way, not as dinner for some creature. With determination, he pulled himself up and reached for the ice that bound him to the ceiling. But the ice was too thick and he was too weak, so he fell back into his hanging position.

Luke's eyes darted around the cave, looking for something, anything that could help him. Suddenly he saw his belongings heaped in a corner, a few feet away. He could see his lightsaber. It almost called to him. Just out of his reach . . ..

He twisted his body, stretching as far as he could. Possibly, under different conditions, if he wasn't so cold, if he wasn't so sore, he might have reached it. But he couldn't. The creature was close now, so close he could almost see it.

Then he felt it. That soothing presence which he had felt so many times in the past few years, ever since Ben had given his life to help him and the others escape the Death Star. The presence that had come to him during the battle against the Death Star. The feeling he had come to come to recognize as the Force.

_The Force._ _Relax_, he told himself, _Just Relax._ His eyes fixed on the lightsaber, shutting out the pain in his body, in his head. Just focusing on that object, reaching out his hand. It took a while, but just as the creature loomed in front of Luke, the lightsaber sprang into his hand. Luke activated the saber, its blade quickly slashing through the ice that held him prisoner. Luke dropped to the icy floor.

The monster hesitated for a moment, scared by the unfamiliar weapon. But it blocked Luke's escape. Luke brought his lightsaber down, slashing through the creature. It shrieked, lumbering out of the cave. Luke wasn't sure if he had mortally wounded the beast, or merely scratched it. At any rate, he wasn't going to stay to find out.

The sky was getting darker and it was getting colder. He had used what little strength he had fighting the creature. He stumbled forward, heading roughly in the direction of the Rebel Base. Every step was more difficult than the last. Finally he stumbled down an embankment of snow and lost consciousness.

* * *

"Then I'll see you in hell."

The words echoed through Han Solo's head as he raced his Tauntaun through the frozen terrain. The snow was falling heavier and the daylight was fading rapidly. The temperature was falling rapidly. Hell, was not a word that Han would have used to describe this place. Hell would be too warm, far too warm.

The Tauntaun was wheezing, his breath becoming more labored. Even the snow-lizards were not equipped to deal with the effects of the surface after nightfall. Han hoped that the animal would last until he found Luke.

Han pushed the mount harder, until it was racing at maximum speed, way too fast for the temperatures and the distance it had already traveled. It was moaning in pain. Han felt bad about that, but all that mattered right now was finding his friend.

Every so often, he would yell into the increasing darkness, "Luke! Come on, answer me kid!"

Mostly he was met with silence: silence, darkness, and snow, endless snow.

He pushed his mount forward.


	2. Chapter 2

Luke somehow regained consciousness, the night storms swirling around him. He tried to get up, but was blasted back down. He crawled forward, only to collapse painfully.

This was it; he was going to die here on the frozen wastes of Hoth.

Suddenly, he heard a noise, a voice. In front of him, shimmering, like a vision or a hallucination was old Ben Kenobi, clad in the same robes he was wearing the last time Luke had seen him.

"Luke, you must go to the Dagobah system. You will learn from Yoda, the Jedi Master who taught me."

"Ben, Ben . . .." Luke called out, feebly reaching for the figure. But the vision faded.

Luke could have sworn that Ben's figure was replaced by another on a Tauntaun, but he was not sure.

"Ben?" He asked, one last time before allowing oblivion to over take him once more.

* * *

"Luke?" The mounted figure called as he brought the snow-lizard to a stop.

Han looked in horror at the figure at his feet.

"Come on buddy," he said bending down over the body, "you aren't dead yet. Give me a signal here."

Luke looked terrible, his face savagely torn, nearly frozen to death. All things that a good dip in the Bacta tank could cure, that is if Luke was still alive, and Han could get them both back to the base before they turned into icicles.

Han heard a low moan from the younger man. Han grinned. "I knew you wouldn't leave me out here all alone! We've got to get you out of here."

Han scooped up the young man and carried him to his waiting mount. But before he could drape the young rebel over the back of the animal, the Tauntaun gave an agonized cry and fell over. It was dead.

Han set Luke down and noticed the lightsaber on the young man's belt. Sighing, he grabbed the tool and turned it on with a hum. He quickly cut open the hide of the dead beast.

"Ugh, these things smell worse on the inside." He quickly cleaned the insides out of the animal. Then he shoved his friend inside the warm skin.

"I know this doesn't smell so good, Luke, but it'll keep you from freezing."

Han then tried to reach the base on his commlink, but only silence answered. Han began to rummage through his supply pack, taking out the shelter container.

It was the only thing that was going to get them both through the night.

* * *

"Oh, kid, you sure do know how to get me into messes, don't you?" Han asked, even though he knew that the kid didn't hear him.

Han had gotten the shelter up and had dragged Luke and the Tauntaun skin inside with him. Han had finished a ration bar and now had taken a stim-pill. He usually preferred not to take the things, but in this case, sleep was not an option. He needed to keep awake if he was going to avoid freezing to death. Staying awake was the only way he was going to save his friend's life.

His friend. How many of them did he really have? He had wondered tonight why he hadn't hesitated to go after Luke when it became clear that the young rebel hadn't checked back. Wasn't he about to leave? He had just said good-bye to the Princess and the base commander. He needed to go; maybe he'd come back after he was finished with Jabba. If not for the Rebellion, at least to see Luke and Leia one more time. He wasn't going to think about the girl, Leia was probably worried sick, mostly about Luke, he was sure. But as much as he liked the spunky rebel Princess, she wasn't the real reason he'd gotten involved in the Alliance, the reason that he had stuck his neck out time and time again.

No, the reason was an idealistic farm boy from a backwater planet.

He had done it again tonight. He was willing to risk his own life, to freeze to death, just to bring the kid back. Why had he done that? Because Luke would do the same for him. It was just as simple as that.

He and Luke were friends, true friends, friends to the end.

"Even though the end could be tonight." He said out loud.

Han had never had a friendship like the one with Luke before. All his life, from his days struggling to survive on the streets of Corellia, to his brief military career, to his days as a smuggler, the people he had come into contact with had always needed something for him. Sure, he'd enjoyed the company of many of them, drinking, gambling, carousing, whatever. Some of them, he knew would watch his back. But all of them were around because either he had something they needed or they had something he needed. Whatever it was money, knowledge, power, spice, ships, or even sex, there was always something. But not with Luke. The boy had originally needed him as a pilot, but that was a business transaction, it had nothing to do with their friendship. The kid needed nothing from him, and he needed nothing from the kid. Nothing but his company.

A true friend, the one thing that had been missing in his life. Sure, Chewbacca was his friend, loyal, steadfast, and wonderful. But Chewbacca also owed him a life debt, something Han had always tried to release the Wookiee from. It was the thing that was between them. Chewie believed he owed the human and that would always be there. No matter how many times they would save each other's lives, it would be there.

Not so with Luke.

"Come on, kid," Han quietly urged. "I feel like a crazy man talking to myself and I need to stay awake. Say something."

Luke moaned. He muttered something that sounded like, "Ben, Dagobah, Yoda . . .."

Han had no idea what that meant. "What happened to you, kid? What did this to you?"

Luke almost seemed to respond to that. "Creature, big."

Han chuckled, "Well, I sure hope he looks worse."

But Luke didn't answer; instead he fell back into unconsciousness. Han shook his head and leaned back against the tent wall, wishing he'd brought a game of pocket sabacc to keep him company.


	3. Chapter 3

After a long while, Han crept forward to check on his friend. The kid's breathing was shallow, but steady, which was a relief. His face, however, didn't look so good. The wounds weren't bleeding, but they were deep. Han doubted even the miraculous bacta was going to fix all of the wounds without leaving scars.

"Hey, they build character, kid. Besides, women love them." Han said to the younger man with a chuckle. But then in a more serious voice, he asked, "Do they hurt much?"

Luke didn't answer, not that Han expected him to. With a gentleness, that amazed even the smuggler, Han brushed the hair out of Luke's face to get a better look. He didn't like what he felt. He laid his hand on Luke's forehead. Han was no doctor, nor had he had much medical training, but he didn't like the fact that Luke felt so cold, even out of the wind and wrapped in a hide.

Yeah, it was as cold in there as Tatooine was hot, but still, Luke should be warming up by now.

_This is not good._

"Come on buddy, I didn't almost become an icicle for you to die on me. It's only a few more hours more until daylight, and then we can get out of here. I just need you to hang on."

Han continued to hold his hand on Luke's forehead as if trying to pass some of his own heat into Luke. Although the smuggler had never stopped thinking of the younger man as 'the kid', in the years they had known each other, Luke had grown into a man. But tonight, he looked less like a seasoned rebel pilot and more like a young boy. A boy that had gotten beaten senseless by the neighborhood bully.

"Luke, you gotta just hang on. They need you back there. Lots of people. Your squadron, those crazy droids of yours, Leia, everybody. And I need you too; so don't even **think **about leaving me alone out here. I've just gotten used to not being alone, you know?"

He wondered if Luke did know. Although neither of them had ever really talked much about their pasts, both believing in Leia's idea of looking forward, never back, Han knew enough to imagine that Luke's life hadn't been any easier than his own. Han had spent enough time on Tatooine, he had heard about the rough and lonely lives of the moisture farmers, toiling day after day, just barely eking out an existence among the endless sand dunes. He also knew that Luke had lost the only family he'd ever known. Luke hadn't shared that last tidbit until one night merely weeks ago when he, Leia, Han, and Chewie had whiled away a boring night playing sabacc and drinking. Luke was bad at it, Leia actually quite good. They also had found out that all three of them were orphans. Leia had actually been orphaned before the destruction of her planet, she remembered her mother's death and had been raised by her widowed father. Neither Han nor Luke had remembered their own parents. Amazing that three completely different people could have such similar backgrounds and become such good friends. Although of course the smuggler and the princess of the group really needed the farm boy between them to keep things civil. Han had learned that just that afternoon.

"Luke, I got something serious to tell you. I told Leia this afternoon that I was leaving."

Han paused as if waiting for Luke's response. When he realized that nothing was coming, he continued. "I have to, you know that. Jabba's put a death mark on my head. That bounty hunter was too close. Along with saving my own hide, I gotta think about you and Leia. She doesn't get that, but I'm sure you do. Wherever I am, my friends are also going to be marks. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if either of you got hurt because of me. I'm even endangering what you are doing here. And for whatever strange reason, I don't want that to happen. The Alliance is important and one smuggler's problems shouldn't bring it down. But you know I'm coming back for you, right Luke? I came back when you were facing the Death Star. At the time, I wasn't sure why. Oh sure, Chewie talked a good game and the idea of fame was a good draw. But mostly it was for you. There's something about you, kid. You're like nobody I've ever known before. Everyone else has always wanted something from me or I've wanted something from them. That even includes Chewie and Leia, though we won't go into that. But you, you don't need anything from me. You're just my friend, my best friend. I'm coming back; I'll always come back. That's why I'm here right now, because I couldn't leave you out here. I know you'd do the same for me. But I still have to go, I've stayed too long as it is."

Luke suddenly moaned, the first sound that Han had heard from him in hours.

* * *

"Luke! Hey, that's what I want to hear."

Luke barely opened his eyes squinting in the darkness. "Han?"

"Yeah, you gave me quite a scare there."

"Cold. So cold." Luke whispered. Then he began shivering uncontrollably.

Han looked around the tent. Luke was wrapped in the hide, with a terminal blanket from the supply kit over that. There simply wasn't another thing to put over him except for Han's own clothes and he needed them if he was going to keep from freezing himself. Just one thing left . . ..

"Oh Sith." Han swore. "Just let it be known that I wouldn't do this for just anyone."

Han lifted the blanket and the hide and slipped in next to Luke. He swore again in Corellian, that hide still stunk; off hand he couldn't think of anything worse, except maybe that trash compactor on the Death Star. Luke was whimpering, a return of consciousness also became a return to the pain of his injuries.

Han wrapped his arms around his friend. It was awkward for him, demonstrations of affection were generally brief for him, except with Chewie and that was never his choice. But Luke had to get warm somehow. Luke pressed against Han's chest, was still somewhat delirious. He muttered names, some of which Han knew, some of which he didn't. Ben, Beru, Yoda, Camie, Leia.

"It's going to be okay, Luke, it's going to be okay." Han repeated over and over again until Luke had finally calmed down.

Warmer now, Luke fell into what Han hoped was sleep. His arms still firmly wrapped around his friend, the smuggler finally let himself drift off to sleep.

* * *

The stream of light coming through the tent walls awakened Han. Morning, they had made it to morning. He untangled himself from Luke and the layers of bedding, and then checked on his friend. The younger man was still asleep, but he felt warmer, his breathing steady. He was going to make it. Han just had to figure out a way to get them back from wherever here was.

He turned on his commlink once more, trying to summon anyone. He had a feeling that they were out of range. He just had to hope that someone would come looking for them.

He grabbed a ration bar, checked on Luke once more then hiked outside the tent with the commlink, trying to get a better signal.

After what seemed like ages, he finally got something, it was grainy and full of static but it sounded like "Echo Three, this is Rogue Two. Do you copy? Commander Skywalker this is Rogue Two."

"Nice of you guys to drop by. Hope we didn't get you up too early." Han answered.

Han ducked back inside the tent. "Luke! Put on something pretty because company is coming."

Luke merely moaned.

Han knelt by his friend. "They've come to get you. We'll dump you in some bacta and you'll be as good as new. It'll be all right. I'm going back out to wave them down. I'll be right back."

Suddenly Luke spoke, his voice weak but distinct. "I know you will be. You always come back for me."

The smuggler smiled. "You know I will."

"Thank you, Han." The farm boy whispered.

"Any time, old buddy, any time. Course, next time, find a warmer planet to get yourself lost on."

Han swore he heard Luke chuckle. Han gently stroked Luke's head one last time. Then he ducked back outside to wave the pilot down.

_We made it. And I'm not going anywhere._

The End


End file.
